Do not be fooled by China's propaganda on Tibet and Tibetans

Dharamshala: - As Tibetans and peace loving people, we realize that there is a Chinese propaganda waged to capture the hearts and minds of Tibetans. It is now waged using not only their modern weapons, but also their state-run television, radio and other types of media. While we fight using the method of freedom, non-violence, human rights and democracy, China will use any tools to try and win.

Threaded into used by the communist regime, there is, of course, the tool of "propaganda." While people can engage in propaganda either knowingly or unknowingly, it is important that we are able to identify it, so that we will not be deceived. Propaganda is mostly used by communist leaders, politicians, dictators and totalitarians. It can be found almost everywhere in Tibet and China.

As the military crackdowns on the Tibetan people in many parts of Tibet continued.The whole world knows that China has made several totally false claims about the current situation in the region. At the end of a two-day conference organised by China's Communist Party that concluded on 13 August, the so called "Lhasa Consensus" was issued which was reportedly extremely critical of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Tibetan people. Without a fair confirmation, China immediately claimed it had the backing of all 100 delegates from China and 33 countries which comprised some "scholars, politicians and journalists."

China's false claims on Tibet will soon fade, because we learned just one day after the meeting that what the world was told by China that this was untrue. Elsewhere, China 's government has a bad reputation about the propaganda used by the Communist Party of China to sway public and international opinion in favour of its policies.

The recent propaganda statements are nothing but just another well-prepared attack on Tibetans and peace and freedom loving media. These include, "The Dalai clique's statements on Tibet are distorted and incorrect. Many Western media reports are biased, and "Tibet enjoys sound economic growth, social harmony, deep-rooted Tibetan culture and beautiful natural scenery, and the people enjoy a happy life".

The communist regime falsely says that selected delegates are shameless liars about Tibet when claiming that Tibetans enjoy a happy life. "We are not surprised to see the claims because it is something that is so far from reality." The former mayor of Christchurch, New Zealand, Sir Bob Parker, told BBC from Lhasa that he was not happy to be associated with the document that China is calling the 'Lhasa Consensus.' He said that he was "aware" that the statement was made but he "certainly hasn't signed up to it."

He said, "I think a number of people who were there were a little surprised to hear about that statement. Certainly the conference that I've been attending has been focused on sustainable development and there were no real political themes running through it at all."

One part of the agreement stated: "Participants unanimously agree that what they have actually seen in Tibet differs radically from what the 14th Dalai and the Dalai clique have said. Propaganda is the only tool they use. Proper investigative journalism is severely lacking and international reporting on China and Tibet is also banned. Tibetans inside Tibet have been warned by Chinese officials that they would be severely punished for talking to foreign journalists. Accurate Chinese media representation of Tibet issues is crucial. Any and all media reports are censored or biased.

Foreign journalists are rarely allowed entry into Tibet, and when they are, they are closely chaperoned by Chinese officials. "Tibet is a special case," the government tells reporters, when asked why access is tightly restricted. What Chinese government propaganda claimed as 'Development of Tibet' shows only a self-created picture of beautiful life for Tibetan people in Tibet.

A new propaganda technique they use now is; if they can't win the argument spread by government propaganda, they directly attack the person. According to the New York Times, a London-based advocacy group, Free Tibet has identified nearly 100 fake Twitter accounts, which are being used to spread the Chinese government's propaganda on Tibet on the microblogging site. The accounts reportedly portrayed the Chinese regions of Tibet and Eastern Turkestan in a flattering light, despite decades of unrest in the regions.

Turn the spotlight on. Now the time has come for Chinese to ask themselves, Where do they go to get their reputation back? According to an online survey conducted in China in 2006, 65 percent of respondents said that if they were reincarnated, they hope not to be Chinese, a revelation that inspired the book "I Don't Want to Be Chinese Again" by Hong Kong writer Joe Chung.

As a result of the ongoing Chinese government's hardline policies, Tibetans feel culturally devastated, disempowered, disenfranchised, and marginalized on various fronts. China still says that it is in Tibet's interest to build long term stability and social harmony. But that can only be achieved through a peaceful dialogue.

The world was shocked by China's attempt to deny the Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People presented in 2008. It is not only by the stunt of lying to others, but also of breaking their promises. The "17-Point Agreement" promised to leave Tibet, language and political institutions intact in exchange for accepting China's sovereignty.

Former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 once said that "Except for independence, all other issues can be settled through discussions." The statement has drawn widespread castigation in Tibet, where it is now seen as a huge insult to the rights of six million Tibetans of Tibet. They never kept these promises. It reflects China's totalitarian nature and ignorance of democracy and freedom.

Last Month, Beijing published a white paper on its "one country, two systems" policy over Hong Kong, stressing that the Chinese authorities in Beijing has "comprehensive jurisdiction" over Hong Kong. Beijing made it explicit that "the high degree of autonomy of Hong Kong is subject to the regime's authorisation" and that the principle of "two systems" is subordinate to the idea of "one country."

The white paper tried to clear a breach of promise by Deng Xiaoping that "Hong Kong will remain unchanged for 50 years" after the end of British colonial rule in 1997.

Hong Kong's example clearly holds a greater Chinese identity, because its bad reputation encouraged a greater Chinese identity which sparked strong backlashes in Tibet, Inner-Mongolia and Eastern Turkestan. Other reasons for the Chinese not to grant meaningful autonomy to Tibet include identity; the fact that the Tibetans are not Chinese, and Tibet is not Macau or Hong Kong.

Chinese communist totalitarians led by Xi Jinping in Beijing still seek to restore the former dictator Mao Tse-tung's old Chinese political system commonly well-known as the "Cultural Revolution".

Should the current Chinese administration in the year 2014 be able to continue the ethnic cleansing and genocide driven disaster that started in the Cultural Revolution?

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